Last Saturday (for those of you who may have missed it) Punxsutawney Phil, King of the Groundhogs, didn’t see his shadow when he was removed from his burrow. Some might think that this simply meant that Phil woke under a cloudy sky, but it meant far more than that to The King; he immediately declared that we would see an early spring. So, bolstered by Phil’s decree, I went off in search of spring.
My first stop was at the Ashuelot River, which certainly had a spring like look. I was amazed that two days of above freezing temperatures and two inches of rain had removed almost all traces of ice.
Downstream the river was on full boil and the white water was frothing. It’s a scene that always reminds me of spring. When the river gets like this you can hear the deep and slightly eerie sounds of boulders being rolled along the bottom. Large, heavy objects that roll along the bottom are called the bed load of a river. The amount of solid load that a river carries is measured in metric tons per day, passing any given point.
This scene certainly didn’t speak of an early spring. I decided to leave the river and look for spring elsewhere.
Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) was nice and green and looking spring like, but it has been this way all winter.
Brachythecium moss (Brachythecium rivulare) is often bright green, golden or yellow-green. I found it growing on a rotting log. The color reminded me of spring perennial growth, which is often a light shade of green or even yellow, in some cases.
This white ice also reminded me of spring and when I used to ride my bike through puddles full of it as a boy. I used to love the sound it made when I broke it. It’s amazing how such simple things often come with such powerful memories. I can’t think of anything else that sounds quite like this kind of ice breaking, so it’s impossible for me to come up with comparisons for those of you who have never heard it.
Yes, that’s mud and mud always reminds me of spring. People who don’t live in New England may not have heard about our fifth season, known as mud season. It’s when our dirt roads suddenly liquefy and turn into vehicle swallowing quagmires. Cars and trucks buried up to their axles are a common sight. Mud season happens in spring when the water from the thawed upper layers of soil can’t seep down through the still frozen lower layers. What you end up with is a giant, dirt filled mud puddle that looks like a solid road. Until you try to drive over it.
These red maple (Acer rubrum ) flower buds didn’t fail to bring thoughts of spring either, but it will be a while yet before they break fully.
Magnolias set their furry buds in the summer, so these buds have nothing to do with spring until they open. Some magnolias bloom early enough to be true heralds of spring.
Poplar trees (Populus) are in the willow family and their buds remind me of spring pussy willows. North American poplars are divided into three main groups: the cottonwoods, the aspens, and the balsam poplars. If the buds aren’t sticky then the tree belongs in the aspen group. These weren’t. Aspen buds begin to swell during the first warm period in spring, when minimum temperatures are still below freezing. Air temperature rather than day length determines when their buds will break, so it can vary from year to year.
Daffodil buds are much like aspens in the way that they will simply refuse to grow until it is warm enough, even though they can break ground very early if we have a warm day or two. Seeing them certainly reminded me of spring.
In the end I didn’t find spring and I didn’t see a groundhog either, but I found many signs that told me that nature is stirring, and that spring isn’t too far off. I’d be willing to bet that it’ll be here by the last week of March. By the way, Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of an early spring just happens to agree with the National Climatic Data Center and the National Weather Service.
Spring is when you feel like whistling, even with a shoe full of slush. ~Doug Larson
Thanks for stopping in.
reading your posts makes me miss new hampshire! i love the photos, too!
Maybe one day you’ll get back here. Meanwhile I’m glad you enjoy the posts.
Beautiful images that will all look different by the weekend! I envy you the snow that is predicted!
Thanks Montucky. I hope we don’t get quite as much as they say we might!
Beautiful! You always put together an interesting post Allen! The picture of the river is amazing, and all the info on the trees, just nice.
🙂
Thank you Chris-I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Beautiful!!! Great shots!!!
Thank you Rexlin!
Spring can wait. I’m stoked about the upcoming storm. Maybe I can put my snowshoes to use.
This might be the only chance this winter!
Wonderful! I anxiously await such a day here in the snowbelt. Your photo log the past couple of months have certainly changed my mind about New Hampshire’s climate. What a great place to be!
Don’t be too quick to start packing Sue-this has been a very strange winter! 3 winters ago I had snowbanks in my yard that were over my head, and that was closer to the “average” New Hampshire winter than the last two have been. I’ve never seen such low snow totals in my lifetime as I have the last two. Of course, they say we might see as much as two feet on Friday now!
I really enjoyed this set of pictures. Thank you.
Thank you, I’m glad to hear it.
Did you know that the “Like” button is gone in this post?
Great photos! I would love to kayak that river about now! When you’re fishing, you can feel the impacts in your legs as the rocks and boulders move with the current.
I remember the sound of ice like that breaking, you’re right, it is a unique sound. And the mud, several relatives used to live on dirt roads, and in the spring, visiting them was always chancy. The area farmers would be kind enough to pull people out when their cars sank in the mud, the good old days! Great memories, thank you!
We’ve gotten snow everyday for over a week, but that’s all lake effect, and has compacted down to about 6 to 8 inches, even though several feet of snow has fallen in places around here. We’re seeing the first sunshine here in 9, count them, 9 days! So, I’m going to go looking for signs of spring here.
That’s the calm before tomorrows storm that’s predicted to drop another foot here, then slam you guys later this weekend. Don’t put your shovels away yet.
No I didn’t know that the like button had disappeared. People have been “liking” this post, so I don’t know why they can see it and we can’t. Oh well-I don’t have a clue about how to get it back.
Glad you liked the pictures. Many people kayak on that section of river in spring so I’m surprised that I haven’t seen anyone doing it yet.
I’m glad we’re not the only ones who have mud season! Once you get stuck in that, you never forget it-and never want to again.
Glad you’re finally seeing some sun. I know you’ve said that it’s a rare event there. My shovel hasn’t been put away yet-they say we might see a foot or more on Friday!
I am surprised your plants seem to be getting ready to open despite the cold and ice.
We had a few days warm enough to get things like daffodils stirring, but most perennials are still waiting to make an appearance.They may have to wait even longer now, because they say we could see a major storm at the end of this week.
It’s amazing how the different plants and trees respond to the gradually changing seasons. Some push out new growth early and then wait, while others seem to wait until the last minute and then burst out. Some respond to the changing temperatures and others to increased daylight. Thanks for pointing out so many signs that spring is coming. For now, though, I am not yet ready to put away my snow shovel.
My shovel will stay out too Mike-I just heard that we could see 12+ inches of snow on Friday!